This was a real exchange between Jeff Lawson and J. Valdez:

Jeff Lawson: I watch a lot of slice-and-life shows.
Jeff Lawson: And by “slice-and-life”, I mean “slice-of-life”.
J. Valdez: Do you mind if I start calling shows like Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and School Days, “Slice-and-Life?”

Fun times. I reserved the slice of life shows for the last because I had a nagging feeling I was going to like them regardless of when and how I saw them, to say nothing of how viewable subs for Minami-ke were only made available some time back. The wait was worth it, in any case, since I can’t remember the last time I laughed till my chest hurt.

The basis of harem is pretty simple — one guy, a lot of girls, and plenty of rabu-rabu hijinks in-between. This, unfortunately, is as easy as saying that the basis of shounen is this guy who discovers a drill-shaped key his inner powers one day and goes on to pierce through the heavens save the world. Or saying that the basis of shoujo is throwing one girl into the midst of 10 or so pretty guys and having her come off with her one true love, or that the basis of slice of life is that NOTHING HAPPENS.

what Konata said about tsunderes having twintails was true

The following are a bunch of shows that wouldn’t really fit anywhere else, or stuff that I got lazy of thinking of categories to pigeonhole them in, and therefore making this quite the mixed bag. Some might say I already ruined the whole category thing by throwing in Blue Drop there with my previous post. I digress. With this are reviews of Shugo Chara, Bamboo Blade, Moyashimon, and Ghost Hound.

Shugo Chara! was an embarrassing affair, a show that I found a whole lot more engaging and entertaining than its intended audience, i.e. my little sister, found it to be. Maybe the magic didn’t really work, pun unintended, because she wasn’t as familiar with Japan’s school life, acting nonchalant for the most part, not laughing where I expected her to, or being as interested overall like I was.

For the record, my sister turns 12 mid-December. Yours truly turns 21 late November. What this all really means is that my liking for the show isn’t unlike the horde of male otaku during the recent Shugo Chara event. Although I’m pretty confident that my fondness for the show stems from more than just a fetish with creepy undertones, of which I don’t have, in case you were wondering.

As I write this I’ve just finished viewing the last few episodes of Lucky Star. a.f.k. has been good and all, but unreliable and temperamental (you know it’s getting dumb when they delay subs due to “it being licensed”… twice) when it came to the last stretch. Props to Guerrand for giving us that final lap, and Moogy for mirroring the downloads on his server.

Lucky Star, in my opinion, exceeded all expectations. Paradoxically, this would only work if you had no expectations to begin with, because it was that type of anime that could only work under a lack of preconceptions. Of all the posts I’ve read about, the most appreciative ones were those who didn’t stuff LS into a box and still expect it to work its magic, namely because LS was something that just couldn’t operate under those conditions.

I’ll be honest upfront and say that this review’s one of those largely starry-eyed types. I found no problems with it whatsoever, but that might have been due to my approach to it, and how I chose to not let what the community at large perceived as problems interfere with my assessment of it. I say this in confidence, surely, for I know that LS will be one of those anime that I’ll be able to re-watch a year from now.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is classy, gorgeous, ironic, outrageous, fantastic — all of that at the same time, and whoever disagrees with me obviously lacks good taste. Personally I don’t really think much of the Summer season no thanks to Spring’s prolific QUALITY that ensured anything making its debut now would be overshadowed, but SZS is a good show to debunk that type of thinking.

I’m not sure where exactly to begin, because it’s taken me by the neck and then pinned me against the wall in its strong grip — the art, surely? The colours are of an enchanting, multi-faceted palette, and remind me of Kemonodzume, another series I’ve yet to touch on my backlog. The animation is a noticeable cut above the usual industry standard, with the animators going all out for even the small things, from minute sakura petals to fragments of splintered chalk, and it shows.

If rational, level-headed opinions (and sarcasm) offend your conservative, illogical sensibilities, you can still turn back. You don’t have to read beyond this. No one’s forcing you to do anything, no sirree. Exit’s that way.

It’s easy to spin anything. Bet you didn’t know that. The witch-hunting, pitchfork-waving mob gets their kicks from taking things out of context. I blame the rise of a post-modernist society. Because, you know, things should be taken at face value and all that. The importance of looking at something from a structured perspective, or in context, is antiquated fundamentalist bullshit; the new way to go about things is to analyse things on the surface level. Nevermind differing cultural norms, I mean, since it’s being published in my country I must be able to hold it to my own set of personal values, and say things like “I’m fully aware this isn’t part of my culture, but the PERVERTS! How DARE they!”

That’s brilliant reasoning there, if I say so myself.

I don’t have any real issues with Hayao Miyazaki’s work for the record, they’re pieces of art blah blah critically acclaimed blah blah but it just doesn’t resonate with the average anime viewer. How many of you reading this actually like his work enough to put it at your #1 spot(s)? It’s give or take to me, good thing the latest film he’s working on is purportedly his last.

you know what they say about seeing what you want to see? this isn’t a shop, which makes it even funnier than the Kanon one, displayed after the cut

This is about how Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight! was pretty much like Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad. By “pretty much” I mean “a lot”, and if you’ve seen both like I have you should be able to see the connection. It’s damn obvious if you ask me. Pity not many saw the glory that was Ray and his Engrish, because as far as mainstream tastes go Beck failed. Explanation after the cut.

no, I wasn’t expecting this either, despite the huge warning signs and how I seemed to have missed the glaring fact that Seioh High was an all-girls school.

I’d watched till episode 13 last September, by which point Triad decided to take three months to work on episode 14, which made me decide to wait till they’d finished subbing all of it. It was then licensed around March or April, which set me off searching for the remaining 5 episodes, and as the Spring season came all thought of watching it flew out the window till Saturday afternoon.

The lesson here? Don’t rely on Triad for anything (I mean, just look at StrikerS), unless it’s an obscure, non-moe series like Bokurano that no one else wants to sub, which means you’ve got to rely on them anyway. I digress. Higurashi was a mixed bag, although I loved it more than anything, and I’m really looking forward to the next season. Bring on Summer.

My first ever Manga post is about lolicon. Awesome.

This is in response to a recent Mr Answerman column (scroll down) where Zac Bertschy, the writer, basically goes off on a tangent about Kodomo no Jikan because of the presumably pseudo-paedophile vibes the manga gives off which his perfectly normal, non-fetishist heterosexual nature can’t endorse. Nevermind how the manga isn’t even released yet.

It so happens I’ve got volumes 1-3 raw, and having read them before I’d seen the column, not to mention how Google actually fails for once at providing proper information in English about it, this would be a great opportunity to explain what KnJ’s really all about. Some spoilers after the cut.

this screencap is justice, like Light

So after watching the entire season, let’s talk about what I think of Azumanga Daioh. It didn’t improve after the first episode, but considering the pathetic waste of time that was most of the series, I guess that was to be expected.

Azumanga Daioh is, at best, an average show. At worst, it’s like Charlie Chaplin trying to cheer up a little girl post-rape with his legendary slapstick humour, which is technically funny, but really sad when you look at the bigger picture.

I know this seems like a terribly opportunistic time to start my blog given the topic of the moment, but I guess it’s better than nothing. So everyone’s got an opinion about Lucky Star, with the lovers going “MOAR” and the haters going “NO MOAR”, and while I found the list of reasons for not liking it to be pretty acceptable, lolikitsune’s post left an awful taste in my mouth and I thought a more positive take on the whole thing would be appropriate.

I know coloured hair’s there for character differentiation, but…